A Hallmark Moment
by Kitty-0-kat
Summary: A father's day card from DG spurs some thinking in Cain.


Authors Notes: Here, ladies and gentlemen, is my first posted fan piece ever. It came to me at work on Father's day and I finished it as soon as I got home. Come to find out I had to wait until today to post it, because I had procrastinated in opening my account. sighs

I would guess this to be about a PG-13 for language and innuendo, if anyone feels I have under rated please let me know.

Dedicated, though he'll never read it, to the first man in my life. My father was the inspiration behind the idea that got me started. References are explained at the end.

* * *

At the second sun went down Wyatt Cain sat looking confusedly at the blue envelope on his desk.

DG had been going on about some Other Side holiday called "Father's Day" for a week. She given all the fathers on the palace staff today off in celebration, and even conned Jeb into taking him fishing for some "male bonding" time.

She'd set up an elaborate picnic lunch for the royal family in the inner gardens, with all Ahamo's favorite other side foods as a gift.

At breakfast she'd make a big show of presenting them both envelopes. She said sappy cards were traditional on "Hallmark" holidays, whatever that meant.

He still hadn't opened it.

He hadn't been able to look at her at dinner. He'd just known that if he did she'd ask him if he liked the picture she'd drawn for him. The same way she'd asked Ahamo after breakfast. Big blue eyes all wide, waiting for his approval.

He'd been able to escape before she caught him then, but skipping dinner wasn't an option. So he'd kept his eyes on his plate, and excused himself as early as was decent. He managed, against his will, to catch her eyes in passing.

She seemed somehow younger for a moment, shy. He had wondered if she would chase him down as he walked away. She often did when she wanted an answer.

She made no moves though. Only looked at him with a hint of something that looked like disappointment. She probably thought he didn't like his card, and he hadn't even looked at it yet.

He felt like a complete bastard. He'd have to remember to apologize in the morning.

He'd spent the day with Jeb, who'd rode back home that afternoon to his be with his new wife. Then he'd spent the afternoon out in the woods on his horse, knowing without being told the princess wouldn't want him going back to work so early.

Thinking about his little boy being married brought back memories from his time before the suit. Of picnics in the backyard, camping under the stars with Jeb, drinking coffee with Adora on the porch, and watching the suns rise over the pond.

Adora.

He could finally picture her face without flinching. It had taken him months to get to this point. He could still feel a tightness in his chest when he thought of her, a remembrance of pain.

Her loss was still as fresh to him as it had been the day under the white oak. Time was tempering the reaction. Though he knew it would never really stop hurting, he couldn't let his grief rule his life. He would have gladly died for her, but he was going to take the harder road and live with his memories instead.

In his mind her warm brown eyes stared at him through the glass of his tin prison, until he blinked and found they had turned to blue. Blue like the sky, blue like the damn envelope in front of him.

It was still staring at him, he'd come full circle in his thoughts. Back to DG, where he seemed to spend most of his time lately.

This small blue square made him a little nervous.

After all they'd been through; he'd known she looked up to him. He knew that they were friends.

Never though, in a million annuals would he have thought of himself as her _father_.

In fact, if he thought about it, though he tried not to. He would have said their friendship was progressing into something different, more precious. He wouldn't let himself think about that though, it stirred up feeling he wasn't sure he wanted to examine. It brought back half remembered dreams that had him taking icy showers with growing frequency.

Dg was impulsive to the point of being awkward. So he was certain he would have known by now if she felt more for him.

He sighed and split the seal on the envelope. Gently he pulled out a deeper blue card with a hand drawn horse on the front. He knew he should just get it over with, but he wasn't sure he could take the disappointment of finding out he'd been living on the edge of a dream world for weeks.

Steeling himself for the worst; he opened in to find a few scant lines in her slanting, elegant script.

_Tin man,_

_This is a holiday for the dads in our lives, a day to show them how much they mean to us._

_Even though you aren't my father, I'm glad to have your constant silent support. _

_Your reassuring presence is more precious to me than I can put into words. _

_I would never have been able to accomplish everything I have in the last annual without you standing beside me. _

_You're taking today off whether you like it or not. _

_You deserve a break, and you can consider it an order. _

_I expect you to loosen up for a change and enjoy your day with Jeb. _

_I know he's been trying to get you to visit. _

_It wasn't easy to convince his blushing bride to let go of him for a whole day a week after their wedding you know! _

_I had to promise to be the god-mother of their firstborn. _

_At least I think that's what the letter said. _

_Cassie's handwriting is so darn tiny I had to guess at some of it. _

_Anyway, I'll stop being mushy now, since you hate that. _

_I don't mean to try your patience; I know I can be hard to handle sometimes._

_Just try and be happy today ok?_

_Remember that, no matter what, we all love you. We're family after all._

_With Love,_

_DG_

Family… They were family… He sighed and felt a little disappointed.

That settled it. He was a horrible, perverted, pathetic excuse for a friend...

He'd never be able to look her in the eye again. He'd have to get away for awhile; maybe he should visit Jeb after all. She wouldn't ask about it, she wanted them to spend more time together.

He set the card up on his bureau, and gave it once last look. Feeling slightly hollow, he started to turn back to the room to pack, when a bit of black staining the blue caught his eye in the mirror.

Blinking, he focused on the card's reflection.

There was writing on the back of it too? How was he supposed to know to look there?

Lifting it gingerly from the wooden surface, he turned it over. Scanning it quickly to prevent further uncomfortable feelings from bubbling up, he felt his breath catch. Tearing his eyes away from her initials, he started back over at the beginning. Feverently hoping his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him, he began again.

There were fewer lines here, and the writing was messier, almost as if she'd scribbled it before thinking about what she was writing.

_Wyatt,_

_I'm writing this on the back so you can pretend you never saw it, I know how uncomfortable I make you sometimes with my touchy-feely ways._

_This may possibly be the most embarrassing thing I have ever done. _

_So if your answer is no, please don't ever mention it. _

_Just consign this card to the fireplace for both our sakes._

_There is no easy way to say any of this, so I'll be blunt. _

_I think about you constantly and I find myself falling harder for you daily. _

_I know you may not ready for an emotional relationship yet, but how about a nice craft project? _

_I can't think of a more appropriate way to spend Father's day than "baby making", as they refer to it where I'm from._

_Not that I plan on having one right now. _

_But I thought you might like to practice, since I'd guess it's probably been awhile._

_It's not a skill you want to lose after all. _

_Love,_

_DG_

He blinked again at her initials, before a slow grin spread over his face.

Setting the card gently inside a stack of paperwork so that no one would find it, he strode purposefully from the room.

Mere moments later he was tapping gently on her door, before turning the handle to slip inside.

"Hey there Princess" he murmured to her slouched form as he walked to stand beside her chair in front of the fire.

Worried blue eyes leapt up to meet his, and he saw a strained smile ghost across her features.

"I like my card" he drawled as he knelt in front of her, "how was I supposed to know to look at the back though?"

She blushed as licked her lips before whispering "it's an Other Side thing."

"I see" he chuckled, "your craft idea has possibilities." It was a blunt statement on his part but she met his gaze steadily, her flush spreading only slightly.

"Such as?" she queried with a hint of a smirk on her lips.

He leaned in close so that he was a hair's breadth from her and breathed "Let's just see where this takes us." Before capturing her lips with his own, and pulling her gently into his embrace.

* * *

End notes:

This started from a family tradition. Does anyone remember the Hallmark commercials from the early 90's? They alway had people looking at the backs to be sure of the card brand. My father flipped his card over the year it came out and "complained" that we didn't love him enough to buy him a Hallmark card. So we took to writing irritating messages on the backs of them. It eventually spilled over on to everyone else's too. It's rather convenient for hiding "personal" notes too because when you hang it up so one can see the back. ;)

p.s. The "practice" big is Dad's favorite one-liner for embarrassing us "young 'uns", he says just because we're not ready to have kids yet doesn't mean we can't practice...

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


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